Logic and Magic
by FantasticMisticalWonder
Summary: After the fall of Sunny-Hell, Buffy and co. decide to take a little break in San Fran Sisco, where they'll collide with a very confused crew of a space-ship from an Earth 300 years ahead of their own.
1. Dopplegangers

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Joss is Boss when it comes to Buffy, and Star Trek . . . not exactly sure on the owner, but just know that it isn't me! So, yeah, don't sick Wolfram and Hart on me.

* * *

Buffy could hardly believe it. Sunnydale was _gone_. It wasn't like she was going to miss the hell-hole or anything, but still, the place had been her home for seven years. She had met Angel here, she had died here, and she had become who she was here. And not only that, but her mom was buried here. Buffy and Dawn wouldn't be able to visit their mother's grave now. And Willow would have to find some other way to mourn Tara. And Spike and Anya . . . they wouldn't even get proper funerals. They had been completely obliterated as the Hellmouth imploded. But not being able to honor their friend's passing was a small price to pay for saving the world.

"Looks like the Hellmouth is officially closed for business," Faith said, coming up behind Buffy.

"There's another one in Cleveland," Giles replied.

Buffy tore her eyes away from the crater to give Giles a look, as was everyone else gathered around Sunnydale.

"Not to spoil the moment," Giles added quickly, allowing everyone to return their gaze to the gaping hole in front of them.

"We saved the world," Xander said in an almost disbelieving way.

"We _changed_ the world," Willow corrected, coming up behind Buffy to put her hand on the Slayer's shoulder.

"I can feel them Buffy, all over. Slayers are awakening everywhere," Willow said in awe.

"We'll have to find them," Dawn said.

"We will," Willow reassured.

"Yes, because the mall was actually in Sunnydale, and there's no hope of going there tomorrow." Giles said.

"We destroyed the mall? I fought on the wrong side," said Dawn.

"All those shops gone: the Gap, Starbucks, Toys R' Us. Who will remember all those landmarks unless we tell the world about them?" Xander joked.

"We have a lot of work ahead of us," Giles agreed.

"Can I push him in?" Faith asked.

"You've got my vote," Willow replied.

"I just wanna sleep, yo, for like a _week_." Faith said, playfully pushing Giles.

"I guess we all could, if we wanted to." Dawn said.

"Yeah, the First is crunched, so . . . what do you think we should do Buffy?" Willow asked, her voice revealing her excitement.

"Yeah, you're not the only one and Chosen anymore: you're just gonna live like a person. How's that feel?" Faith asked.

"Yeah, Buffy, what are we going to do down?" Dawn asked, turning to her sister.

Buffy just continued to stare at the Crater. Was it true? Could she finally . . . breath, for once? Was she at last allowed a vacation, some time off? Did she have a life expectancy that went past tomorrow? Was this her chance for a . . . . a _normal_ life? Slowly, Buffy smiled.

"I just want a break," Buffy said.

"B, you can _retire_ now." Faith replied.

"How's San Francisco sound to you guys?" Buffy asked, turning to face her friends.

"I don't think it's near any magical hotspots, so no danger there," Willow said.

"As long as there's a bar I can trash, I'm cool." Faith said.

"Just don't ask me to ride my bike anywhere. Oh, wait, its rubble now." Xander said.

"I've always wanted to ride a trolley," Giles mused.

Everyone turned to stare at the Brit.

"What?" Giles asked.

"San Francisco it is then," Buffy said.

_Aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, One Week Later_

Captain James Kirk sat in his chair with authority, or at least to someone who didn't know him. Others who did knew that he was only making a mockery of looking authoritative. It was one of the human qualities that puzzled Spock. Being half-human himself, he still experienced human emotions. However, being as well half-Vulcan, he didn't understand them clearly. Captain Kirk, however, wasn't the only human that puzzled him. Dr. McCoy, Mr. Sulu, Mr. Scott, Chekov and Lt. Uhura were also part of the enigma that was the human race. Spock was hoping that spending time on the _Enterprise_ would not only increase his knowledge of the endless universe that was Space, but also that he would grow to understand humans better as well.

Spock frowned as he looked at the readings on his screen; they were illogical, so to speak, and yet the computer had just been updated, there was no possible reason that it should be glitching.

"Well, I'll be damned. Spock, I think I see genuine confusion on your face. Not only an emotion, but also an emotion that I thought would be impossible for you to feel." Said Kirk's voice.

Spock didn't turn around to look at his Captain. "The data that the computer is communicating is illogical, Captain."

"What do you mean illogical? The dots are red instead of blue?" Kirk asked, a hint of what Spock believed to be sarcasm in his voice.

"Negative, sir. According to these readings, we are close to Earth, when Earth is three billion light-years away." Spock answered.

Spock heard Kirk get up from his chair, and he leaned over Spock's shoulder.

"Could it be a planet similar to Earth?" he asked.

Spock shook his head. "My readings show that the environment is identical to Earth's, it's the exact same size as Earth, and there are the same life forms as there are on Earth. Well . . . hm, fascinating." Spock murmured.

"What?" Kirk asked.

"There appear to be no life forms from other planets, though there are life forms that appear alien, at least to me." Spock answered.

Kirk frowned. "Can you get a visual of what's going on down there?" he asked.

Spock didn't answer, instead he made the correct settings and soon a visual of a doppelganger of San Francisco was up on the big-screen as Kirk liked to call it.

Everyone stared at the screen. The people on it were human, and they could see clearly in the background the Golden Gate Bridge. Some of the buildings were recognizable, but they were buildings that were considered old and historical back on the Earth they knew. These were the same buildings, but they looked almost brand-new.

"What is this?" Chekov asked in his heavy Russian accent.

"I don't know," Spock said honestly.

Spock then found himself the new object of everyone's surprise

"_You don't know?_" Kirk said incredulously.

Spock nodded.

"Well, now we know that we're dealing with something stranger than strange." Kirk said.

"Captain, look at the clothes and the cars; they're from at least two hundred and fifty years ago." Uhura said.

She was right, everything looked like it was from the two thousands. The clothes, the cars, the hair styles: everything was so . . . old fashioned.

"Uhhh, Captain?" Chekov asked urgently.

"Yes, Chekov?" Kirk answered.

"What does the rest of this Solar System look like?" He asked.

Kirk's eyes suddenly opened wide, and he turned to Spock.

"Zoom out and get me full visual of surrounding planets." He ordered.

Spock nodded. "Yes, Captain."

Spock made a few adjustments to the settings, and soon there was an outside visual of the planet, and all planets close by.

"Oh my God." Uhura gasped.

On one side of the Earth-like planet, there was a smaller red planet that appeared to be covered in ice. On the other side there was another planet almost exactly equal in size to the duplicate Earth, covered in greed and gold swirls.

"Unbelievable . . ." Chekov gasped.

"Could we have gone through a black hole like the Romulans did?" Sulu asked.

Spock shook his head. "I think we would have noticed, Mr. Sulu."

Kirk walked quickly back over to his chair, and pressed a button.

"Dr. McCoy, Mr. Scotty, come to the Bridge immediately." He said firmly.

McCoy and Scotty were soon on Bridge with them, both staring at the screen in disbelief.

"What the Hell is this, Jim?" McCoy asked.

"We're not sure yet, Bones." Kirk answered.

"Maybe it's a hologram, Captain." Scotty suggested in his Scottish dialect.

"Then it's a very detailed one. Spock, could you pull up that visual we were just looking at?" Kirk asked.

"Of course, Captain." Spock said.

Almost immediately, the picture of San Francisco reappeared on the screen. Both McCoy and Scotty looked stunned.

"Amazing," Scotty murmured.

"Unbelievable," McCoy grumbled.

Kirk turned to Scotty suddenly.

"Scotty, get the transporters ready. Spock, Bones, you're coming with me."

"Where are we going, Captain." Spock asked, standing up.

"I think you're smart enough to figure this one out, Spock. We're going to check out this Second Earth."


	2. What the Hell?

Buffy ran down the alley, only taking a few seconds to glance behind her at the vampire that was chasing her. Typical. She tries to get away from the whole Slayer thing, and of course the first vampire within a twenty mile radius is attracted to her like a magnet. Well, at least she had the sense to put a stake in her jacket before leaving her hotel room. She was hoping that San Francisco was going to be different than L.A. and Sunnydale, but of course she was wrong.

Buffy made a sharp turn into another alley, and smashed into three men.

She grunted and hopped to her feet immediately, turning to face the vampire that would soon be rounding the corner.

"Hey, I'm sorry that we were in your way." One of the men grunted sarcastically as he got up.

"No problem," Buffy murmured as her attention remained fixed on the entrance to the alley.

"I actually think that it should be her who is apologizing, Captain." One of the other men said.

"I know that Spock! I'm being sarcastic." The first man snapped.

"Wow, Jim, usually it's me who's irritated at Spock." The third man said.

Buffy turned around irritably. "Will you three shut up? I'm expecting a psycho maniac to come running through that alley way any minute!"

The first man rolled his eyes. "Oh, is that why you rudely ran into us?"

"And if it is indeed a psycho maniac as you say, shouldn't we be leaving the premises and call the disciplinary authorizers?" The second man asked.

The first man smiled. "I think that this pretty lady should be the only one running. I'm sure that we can take a single lunatic."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "This isn't some normal nut-case, okay. And the cops won't be any use against him. Much less a couple of guys who just came from a geek science convention." She said, looking over their strange outer-spacey clothing. She took a longer look at the second man and her eyes opened wider.

"Looks like you're even more dedicated than your friends here: what with getting that hair cut and those ears." She said dryly.

The first and third man both began to snicker, while the second man looked at her in confusion.

"What about my hair and ears?" he asked.

Buffy opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by the air being knocked out her by the force of something slamming into her back. She fell to the ground with a thump, and the three men each pulled out an object that looked like a cross between a hot glue gun and a pistol.

"Nice toys," Buffy grunted as she jumped to her feet to face the vampire.

He was stockier of build than most vampires, and his excessive muscles showed that he must have been a jock while alive.

"Well, aren't you a tough guy," Buffy commented.

The vampire smiled. "I was top wrestling champ at my school!" He said smugly.

"Likes to talk, too." Buffy grunted as she jumped into the air, brought her knees up to her chest and kicked the guy right above the stomach.

He fell backwards about five feet, and Buffy landed in a crouched position. She didn't have to turn around to know that the three men behind her were probably gaping with their mouths open like caves.

"What the hell . . ." the first one began, but was cut off when the vampire charged.

Buffy jumped again, put her hands on the vampire's shoulders, did a very difficult bend and kicked the vampire from behind, sending him flying forwards.

Buffy landed softly and whipped around to face the vampire. The three men had scattered when she had thrown the vampire at them, and the were all looking at her with wide eyes. The vampire had made a large dent in a dumpster, and a low growl was emitting from his throat.

"I'm . . . going . . . to rip . . . YOUR THROAT OUT!!!!!" He screamed as he quickly got to his feet and charged Buffy again.

He was much quicker this time, and he managed to pin Buffy to the side of a building. Buffy gave him a quick head but, then a knee to the groin. The vampire howled in pain, giving Buffy enough of a distraction to push him away from her. While the vampire was hopping around, still taking Buffy's special blow quiet badly, Buffy got the stake from out of her jacket, and ran up to the vampire. He looked at her in surprise, but she pulled her arm back and thrust the stake into his heart. The vampire's eyes opened wide, and then he disintegrated.

The three men stared at Buffy in surprise.

"Will you damn well mind telling us what the _hell_ that was?" The third man asked.

* * *

Spock found this petite blonde human woman quite fascinating.

First of all, she comes running through the alley with no particular reason, causing quite a mash of chaos by slamming into Kirk, McCoy and him, then she says that this mentally deranged person that's chasing her can't be stopped by police, then makes comments about their clothing and appearance, then reveals that the mad-man that's chasing her has a face deformity and amazing strength and agility, and then shows that she, too, has amazing strength and agility for a woman her size, then takes out a pointed wooden object, impales the mad-man with it, and he turns to dust.

Spock found her an enigma already.

"Would you damn well mind telling us what the _hell_ that was?" McCoy asked, clearly irritated.

The woman gave them an exasperated look.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She said wearily.

"Try me," McCoy said, folding his arms.

The woman considered them for a moment, then took a deep breath.

"That, was a vampire." She said.

McCoy and Kirk stared at her.

"A _what_?" They asked.

"What's a vampire?" Spock asked, confused.

Kirk turned to Spock.

"A vampire is supposedly a thing that has fangs, feeds on other people's blood to survive, can't go out into sunlight because it burns them, is repelled by crosses, holy water, and garlic, and can only be killed by fire, a wooden stake through the heart, and by having their head chopped off. They also, apparently, have no pulse and breath, no reflection, and they sleep in coffins during the day." He explained.

Spock blinked. "That is illogical," he said simply.

"Exactly!" McCoy agreed.

"And I'm sure that whole weird face thing was just make-up, and that turning into dust thing was just a trick of the light!" The woman said sarcastically.

"That's what I said when I saw my first vampire." She said grimly.

Kirk gave her a long, hard look, then sighed and turned to Spock.

"I guess that's the life-form you've never seen before." He said.

Spock raised his eyebrows. "You believe her?" he asked.

Kirk nodded.

Spock nodded. "Then I shall try to believe her too, Captain."

"Whoa, wait, _Captain? _Are you guys from _Star Wars_ or something?" The woman asked.

"Close, there are no Jedi's, though." Kirk said, smiling.

The woman looked surprised, but it slowly faded from her face, and she shrugged.

"Well, I've seen stranger. I guess that explains you're hair-cut and ears then, Legolas." The woman said.

Kirk and McCoy snickered as Spock frowned in confusion.

"I'll ask you once more: what is wrong with my hair and ears, and who is Legolas?"

The woman just smiled.

"So I guess you're not human, then?" She asked them.

Kirk pointed his thumb at Spock. "He isn't human, we are, though." He said.

The woman frowned. "But, the people here have a hard enough time excepting the existence of vampires and demons, some don't even know they exist! And the ones that do definitely don't know about advanced space travel and other planets like you guys. We know about alternate dimensions, but not the whole other galaxy thing." She said.

Kirk coughed. "I think it would be best if we described that to you on our ship."

The woman's eyes opened wide. "You mean, you're going to take me on board your space ship? Like actually take me _on _it?" She asked.

Kirk nodded, smiling.

The woman looked very surprised indeed.

"Wow," she said.

Spock coughed. "You know that's not actually a real word."

The woman stared at Spock, then laughed.

Spock gave her a confused look, but before he could question her, Kirk held his hand out to her.

"I'm James Kirk, but you can call me Jim." He said, smiling at her in a way that Spock assuming to be his "flirtatious smile".

The woman nodded, seeming to have no reaction to his smile.

"Nice to meet you, Jim." She said.

Kirk then gestured at McCoy, then at Spock.

"This is Dr. McCoy, fondly called Bones. And this is Spock." He said.

The woman smiled at each of them.

"Nice to meet your three. I'm Buffy, Buffy Summers."


	3. Spock Goes Theatrical

Buffy looked at Jim as he pulled out something that looked like a walkie-talkie, but more advanced.

"Scotty, can you get a fix on our location?" He asked.

"Aye, Captain." Came a Scottish voice from the communicator.

"Good, is there a fourth person showing up?" Jim asked.

"Aye," said the Scottish man.

"Excellent, beam her up with us." Jim said.

"Aye, sir." The Scottish man said.

"_Beam_ us up?" Buffy asked in confusion.

Jim smiled. "You'll see,"

Almost immediately, everything around Buffy started to blur and pixilated. She couldn't see anything clearly except for Jim, McCoy, and Spock. Very soon, the blurry landscape around Buffy began to clear, but into something different. Buffy found herself standing on a glowing circle in a small room, with a small slightly balding man sitting at a desk covered in flashing buttons.

The small man smiled at Jim.

"Welcome back, Captain." He said in a thick Scottish accent. His eyes then fell on Buffy, and they opened wide.

"And who might this lovely lady be?" He asked.

"Scotty, I'd like you to meet Buffy. Buffy, meet Scotty." Jim introduced.

Scotty held his hand out to Buffy, and she took it. Scotty shook her hand quite vigorously, like it was very rare that he met somebody new.

"Welcome aboard, lass!" He said, smiling broadly.

Buffy nodded at him.

Jim gestured at Buffy. "Come one, I'll take you to the Bridge."

"I know I'm blonde, but the Bridge?" Buffy asked.

"Come on," Jim said.

Buffy sighed. "I hate being so ignorant of this stuff." She said ruefully.

Spock walked up next to Buffy.

"It is alright; you are new to this technology, so it is understandable." He said.

Jim gave Spock a sly smile. "You showing understanding for this kind of stuff? Spock, either our Human Cooties are rubbing off on you, or I think you have a little crush on Buffy here."

"I am merely trying to act more open, Captain." Spock said, though Buffy noticed his cheeks turning a bit pink.

"Well I'll be damned (he says that a lot, doesn't he?), I think Spock's blushing, Jim." Said McCoy.

"I think you're right, Bones." Jim said, smiling.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Do you guys always enjoy torturing Legolas over here, or is this a new thing?"

Jim smirked. "I've got one word for you, shadenfreude."

Buffy blinked. "I'm having a blonde moment here. Huh?"

Jim smiled. "It's German for happiness of the misfortune of others."

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Really, they have a word for an entire sentence?" Buffy sighed and looked upward. "Will they ever learn?" She asked wistfully.

Jim smiled, and Spock just continued to look confused.

"I will ask again; who is Legolas?" he asked.

Buffy merely smiled and shook her head.

They soon reached an elevator, and Buffy was surprised that it seemed to be exactly the same as those back in the twentieth century Earth, except that it was shiny and brand new looking.

Buffy raised an eyebrow when Jim punched a button.

"What, three hundred years into the future and you guys haven't had elevators voice activated or have a mind scanner thing?" She asked dryly.

"We tried inventing a mind scanner, but the results were leaving the test subjects mentally retarded, so we decided to put that idea on . . . is hiatus the term you use?" Spock asked.

Jim smiled. "Only for soap-operas."

Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Wow Jim, I guess I'm not the only one who thinks you're immature." McCoy said wryly.

"Don't you have to be sarcastic somewhere else, Bones?" Jim asked.

"Not until twelve." McCoy said, smiling.

Spock once more looked confused. "Where on this ship would Dr. McCoy be needed for his sarcastic comments?" He asked.

"Sometimes you take things too literally, Spock." Jim said, smiling."

The screen above the elevator doors beeped, and a the words _Sick Bay_ appeared.

"This is where I get off, I've got a guy who's got a guy who's got a guy waiting for me." McCoy said.

"Ah ha! So you _are_ needed sarcastically somewhere else!" Jim said triumphantly.

"No, Jim, this guy wants me for my medical skills." McCoy said, stepping off the elevator.

"Oh, I see, you're going to use your sarcastic abilities to help this guy with some therapeutic problem!" Jim said, smiling.

McCoy rolled his eyes, and he waved to Buffy.

"Nice meeting you Buffy!" He said.

"Back at you!" Buffy said just before the doors closed.

"You know, there's one thing I don't get." Jim said.

"_One_ thing?" Buffy asked, raising her eyebrow.

Jim rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'm not getting a lot of things, but one particular one is how a woman who is quite tiny – no offense – is able to beat a jock who has gotten even more strength from becoming a vampire." Jim said.

"Oh, that's an easy question to answer, I'm the Slayer. Well, not _the_ Slayer any more, but _a_ Slayer." Buffy said.

"What is a Slayer?" Spock asked.

"Well, I'll just repeat the whole prophecy thing." Buffy said, clearing her throat.

"In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of Darkness. She is the Slayer." Buffy said.

"_Demons?!_" Spock exclaimed.

"_She?!_ You mean it's not just a random chance thing?" Jim asked.

"Yes, demon's do exist, Spock, and yes, Jim, all Slayers have been and always will be shes." Buffy said.

"That is totally unfair!" Jim protested, but Spock had on what Buffy assumed was his "thinking face."

"What do you mean by saying that you're no longer _the_ Slayer?" Spock asked.

"Well, there's more than one out there now. You see, me and my friends were going to fight this big battle against hundreds of Uber Vamps, and my mentor, Giles, spent most of his time bringing to us Potential Slayers. Potentials are girls who, when a Slayer dies, one of them might become the next Slayer. Well, I found this scythe, and it turns out that in it was all of the power of the Slayer. My friend Willow did some of some of her wiccan magic stuff, and now every girl that could be a Slayer, is a Slayer." Buffy said.

"_Wiccan magic?!_" Spock asked, looking as if he might faint.

"Do unicorns and pixies exist, too?" Jim asked in a high voice.

"I don't know, I'll have to ask Giles about that one. Ghosts and goblins do, though. Dragons, too." Buffy said.

Spock looked as if his entire world was collapsing. "The entire foundation of logic that I was taught and brought up in has just crumbled beneath my feet." He said.

Jim cocked an eyebrow. "Wow, Spock, I never thought you to be one to go for theatrics."

"Is there anything else we should be aware of about your world?" Spock asked.

Buffy shrugged. "Just be really open minded about things. It took me a while to get used to it, but after coming back to life after dying the second time, I kind of thought that the rules of the universe aren't set in stone."

Both Spock and Jim stared at Buffy. "_You've died __**twice**__?!_" They asked incredulously.

Buffy raised her hands defensively. "I said to be open minded!"

**I'll get to some Spock POV next time, cause I think that this chapter is long enough already. It's five pages on Microsoft Word. Review please! I enjoy hearing your comments and concerns. Well, maybe not the concerns but put those up anyways! I'll post chapter four as soon as possible!**


	4. A World Not Unlike My Own

Spock's whole world was spinning. Accepting the existence of time portals was difficult, but at least it was logical. The existence of children's stories like vampires and demons was just . . . illogical, impossible, against everything Spock believed in. It was physically impossible for there to be a creature that could live without breathing and an active heart. A dead organism could be forced to be re-animated through robotics and machinery – it had been done before on many other planets, but those were the kind of worlds that went through workers at an alarming rate, or rather any kind of living thing at an alarming rate – but for the organism to be able to think on its own, without the help of science, was just . . . impossible. Spock felt that if this woman told him anything else beyond the norm, that he would need to re-read every science journal he had collected over the years.

"Is there anything else we should be aware of about your world?" Spock asked wearily.

Buffy shrugged. "Just be really open minded about things. It took me a while to get used to it, but after coming back to life after dying the second time, I kind of thought that the rules of the universe aren't set in stone."

Spock felt his stomach do a flip, did he really hear what he thought he heard?

"_You've died __**twice**__?!_" Spock asked incrediously, surprised to hear Captain Kirk's voice saying the exact same thing.

They must have been spending too much time together.

Buffy raised her hands in a defensive motion. "I said to be open minded!" She rather cruelly reminded them.

"Would you mind telling us how it was even possible for you to be brought back from the dead even _once?_" Spock asked, feeling rather light-headed.

Buffy thought about that for a moment. "Well, the first time was when I was sixteen: I was fighting a rather tough vampire called The Master, and he bit me, not drinking enough blood to kill me, though. Just enough to nock me out. After that he apparently dropped me face-first into a puddle, and I drowned. Soon afterwards, my best-friend, Xander, and my boyfriend, Angel, found me, and Xander gave me CPR, bringing me back to life. Angel said he would have done it himself, but he's a vampire, so he can't exactly breathe life into someone if he can't breathe himself." Buffy explained.

"Wait, you dated a _vampire?_" Kirk asked, looking quite shocked.

Buffy gave Kirk a look that said that she didn't want to talk about the subject, but that she would have to anyways.

"Yes, Jim, I've dated two vampires so far. I dated Angel because I loved him more than I'll love anyone else, and even if I do fall for someone, a part of me will always love him. Spike was more of a solace thing. In the end, I learned to love him, too, but he didn't believe me when I told him. Right after that, he sacrificed himself to save the world. Now, I thought we were talking about the two times I've died." Buffy said coldly.

While Spock agreed with Buffy on the fact that it wasn't Kirk's business prodding around in her social life, Spock couldn't help but wonder why Buffy would end her relationship with this Angel, if she loved him so much. Normally Spock would have asked, but he could see in her eyes that this caused her too much pain, and though Spock couldn't feel that many emotions, he understood pain. He felt pain when he ended the short relationship he had with Uhura because they came from different races, and being involved with someone would distract him from his work aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise.

Kirk looked rather ashamed of himself, though Spock could see the curiosity lingering in his Captain's eyes.

"Right, sorry." Kirk said.

Buffy nodded. "I get it, it's a bit unnatural to hear of a vampire slayer falling in love with a vampire. Well, anyway, the second time was when me and my friends were fighting this Hell-dimension goddess named Glory, who was after my sister, Dawn, because she found out – as did I and the rest of my friends – that until a few months ago, Dawn didn't even exist. You see, Glory had been banished from her own little Hell, and the only way to get back was with this thing called the Key. Well, these monks were protecting the Key, so before Glory could get it, they transformed it into something else, something that they new I would protect like a lioness. They transformed it into my sister. So, Glory built this huge tower, and she cut Dawn, her blood breaking down the walls that separated the different dimensions. Glory didn't manage to get through – _I_ made sure of that – but the world was crumbling, giant demons escaping into our world. The only way to make it stop was if the blood would stop running. Dawn wanted to jump into the portal into the dimension Glory came from, but I knew that even though Dawn had been created by a bunch of monks, that we still shared the same blood. So, I jumped instead. I was dead for at least five months, long enough for my friends to bury me and have a tombstone made. Well, after those five months, my friend Willow – a witch, might I add – decided to do a little spell that would bring me back from the dead. For some reason, my friends all though that I was suffering from eternal torment in a Hell dimension." Buffy said, Spock noticing the same pain flickering over her eyes.

Kirk didn't notice it. "So, wait, your sister was originally this Key thing, and these monks transformed her into your sister, and you didn't know?" He asked.

Buffy sighed. "The monks were very thorough; they made sure that we all _thought_ that Dawn had been around for years, when in reality she had only been in existence for a few months. Dawn herself didn't know it. Glory was really fooled; she thought that Willow's girlfriend, Tara, was the Key, because Tara was new to the Scoobies." Buffy explained.

"Wait, your friend Willow's _girl_friend?" Kirk asked.

Buffy nodded.

"And, your friend Willow is a girl as well?"

Buffy nodded.

"Not just, you know, a drag queen?"

Buffy shook her head.

Kirk took a deep breath. "Okay then. Hey, look! We're at the Bridge!"

Buffy turned towards the elevator opening just as it opened. Her gray

-green eyes opened wide when she saw the room. Buffy stepped onto the Bridge and Kirk smiled as he walked behind her, his eyes mostly one her back-side, and heturned to Spock with an appreciative smile.

"She's hot," Kirk mouthed, winking.

Spock had no idea how Kirk would know Buffy's body temperature, but let it go, figuring it was an odd human expression.

Uhura spun around in her chair when she heard them come in, and she deliberately ignored Spock and turned to Kirk with a smile.

"Welcome back, Captain. How was your visit to the Second Earth?" Uhura asked, and her gaze fell on Buffy and she frowned.

"And, who might this be?" She added.

Kirk smiled at Uhura, and turned to the rest of the Bridge.

"Well, crew, the trip to the Second Earth was . . . eventful. Spock, you got that tape from Scotty, right?" Kirk asked.

Spock nodded, and he pulled out the small disk from his pants pocket.

"Yes, Captain." Spock answered.

Kirk nodded. "Good, put it in the player." He said.

Spock did as told and he put the small disk into the small machine that would show all of their adventures on the screen. Kirk had made sure that Scotty had a small, microscopic camera follow them, taking a record of all that had happened on their trip to the doppelganger Earth. On the screen, it showed Spock, Kirk, and McCoy beaming down to a dark alley, and them walking blindly through it until Buffy ran straight into them. It showed their brief banter, then Buffy's extraordinary fight with the vampire. Spock still was mesmerized by the quickness and the strength and agility of the small blonde woman. Spock knew without looking that all eyes were upon the screen, watching as Buffy pulled the wooden stake out of her jacket, and plunge it into the vampire's heart, turning it into dust instantly. The video then continued to Buffy's explanation of vampires and demons. The video ended with them beaming back aboard the ship. And then all eyes turned to Buffy.

"That was . . . incredible." Chekov said in admiration.

"And I thought _I_ was good at hand-to-hand combat!" Mr. Sulu said, smiling.

"Are all people on your planet like that?" Uhura asked, seeming to be the only one not impressed by the recording.

Buffy shook her head. "I guess I'll have to explain the whole thing all over again." She said, sighing.

Buffy then explained the entire world of demons and magic to the crew, just as she had to Kirk and Spock and partly McCoy, except that there were no interruptions. By the time Buffy was finished, everyone looked dazed.

"For the love of all that is holy . . ." Chekov whispered.

"I'd rather face those Romulans a thousand more times than have to face those demons you described." Said Mr. Sulu.

"I can't believe that all of that stuff is real." Uhura whispered, appearing to finally be convinced that Buffy was telling the truth.

"Yeah, well can we close our mouths at the shock of finding out about this stuff, because _I_ want to know how you guys are a hundred years ahead of man-kind." Buffy said, crossing her arms.

"Two hundred fifty, actually." Spock corrected.

Kirk sighed. "Well, you see Buffy, I'd love to tell you . . . but Spock is _way_ better at explaining things like that than me, so take it away!" Kirk said, gesturing at Spock.

Though Spock realized that Kirk had thrust him into an uncomfortable situation, Spock still tried to retain his mask of the Vulcan that knew exactly 'what made the world go round' as Spock believed to be the human phrase.

"Well, Buffy, this ship isn't from your planet. Or, at least this _version_ of your planet. We come from the planet Earth, but the Earth _we_ know is two-hundred and fifty years ahead of your Earth. However, every thing seems to be the same as it is one our Earth: there are the same states, same countries, same landmarks, even the planets surrounding yours are the same as where we come from. The only difference is the time-frame. Well . . . that and the fact that there are demons and such on your planet. We didn't travel through a black hole that could have thrown us back in time, there just appears to be another Earth that is more . . . primitive than our own. Even the other planets have failed to evolve. It's . . . unlike anything I've ever see before." Spock said, emphasizing every word in the last sentence when Buffy didn't seem phased by the news.

"You don't seem surprised." Uhura said suspiciously.

Buffy shrugged. "Hey, I've died twice, remember? I've seen stranger things."


	5. A Message

Buffy sat in her room on Earth, thinking about all that had happened. She had just been aboard a space ship inhabited by humans from the future and one half-human half-Vulcan. It was a little bit stranger than what she was used to, but her entire world had once been turned into a musical, and from the calls she was getting regularly from Angel, her ex-vampire sweetheart had been turned into a puppet. Buffy's whole world was made up of fairy-tales and myths, and to keep from going insane, she just had to keep her mind open to new concepts.

Buffy sighed as her thoughts turned to the half-Vulcan with a weird hair-cut and pointed ears that had such a hard time accepting ideas that were illogical. He would flip his wig in just one day in her world. Buffy thought him a little strange, but she had to admit that the ears did have sort of an appeal to them.

Buffy was jerked out of her wandering thoughts – and where they were wandering to even scared Buffy a little – by the communicator that Captain Kirk had given her beeping. Buffy took it out of her pocket and flipped it open.

"Buffy here," she said.

"Hello, Buffy, Captain Kirk requests that you come aboard the _Enterprise_ right away. There is something he believes that would interest you." Came Spock's voice.

"Umm, okay. But I don't think I have the ability to come up there myself without the help of your beamer thingy." Buffy said.

Spock coughed uncomfortably. "Well, the Captain wanted to make sure that you were decent before he beamed you up, as he was sure that you would not appreciate being teleported to the _Enterprise_ scantily clothed." He said.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "You can tell Captain Pervert that I am fully clothed, and that he should stop getting his hopes up, because it ain't gonna happen."

"Do you wished to be beamed aboard, then?" Spock asked.

"Wait one sec, let me just get my stake and ax." Buffy said before walking over to her weapons chest and equipping her jacket with two stakes and a small hand-ax that could be easily concealed, but could still chop the head off of a meaty demon.

"Stake and ax?" Spock asked, bewildered.

"Your right, I probably should add some holy water to the mix, too." Buffy said, grabbing a small bottle of holy water and slipping that into her jacket as well.

"Holy water?" Spock asked, sounding as if he was going to faint.

"You think I should add in my mini crossbow, too?" Buffy asked.

Spock's voice shook. "N-no, I think that what you are equipped with now is f-fine. W-would you like me to beam you aboard n-now?" Spock asked.

"Sure, Spock, thanks." Buffy said before snapping the communicator shut. She smiled. Kirk and McCoy were right, teasing Spock _was_ fun.

* * *

Spock closed the communicator, feeling very bewildered and slightly flustered. Buffy must indeed live in a dangerous world that she carries around and _ax _wherever she goes. Spock shuddered, thinking that the monsters she fought would not be affected at all by her world's primitive guns, or even by the phasers of his world.

"You alright, Spock?" Scotty asked with concern.

Spock nodded. "Yes, Scotty, I am afraid, though, that this new world that we have stumbled upon may need a little getting used to." He said.

Scotty gave Spock a sympathetic look as Buffy began to materialize onto the teleportation pad.

"Aye, same here. But at least you've got a pretty lady to guide you through it!" Scotty said brightly as Buffy's atoms fully materialized into the small blonde Slayer.

"Alright, I'm here. What's this big Hoot-Nanny about?" Buffy asked.

"What is a Hoot-Nanny?" Spock asked, wrinkling his forehead in confusion.

"A little less than a Shindig. A little bit of Hoot, a whole lot of Nanny." Buffy said, stepping off the pad.

Spock still did not understand what a Hoot-Nanny was, or a Shindig for a matter, but decided that it was one of the irrelevant Human terms.

"So, where's Captain Not-Courteous?" Buffy asked.

Scotty snickered at that.

Spock sighed. "He is on the Bridge, no doubt either arguing with Dr. McCoy or harassing Lt. Uhura." Spock said.

Both Scotty and Buffy laughed at that. Spock looked at them in confusion.

"What, it is probably true." Spock said.

"That's why it's funny!" Buffy explained.

Spock still did not understand why the truth was funny, but decided that it was one more human reaction.

"Come, the Captain requires you to stay here unless he needs you to beam someone else on board." Spock said, leading Buffy to the elevator.

Scotty sighed. "I always miss all of the fun." He said bitterly.

Buffy looked like she was going to say something, but Spock hurriedly closed the door to the elevator.

"Why the rush?" Buffy asked.

"I do not think that I wanted to know what sort of comeback you had for Scotty's comment, as I am sure that I would have wished that you had not said it." Spock said.

Buffy cocked an eyebrow, but she didn't say anything.

There was a bit of a silence, which Buffy broke. "So, what's the deal with you and Uhura?" Buffy asked.

"What are you talking about?" Spock asked, thinking that the awkward silence was less uncomfortable than where the conversation was going.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Don't even pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. My spidy-senses picked up some serious bad vibes coming from Uhura, directed at _you_. Well, me too, but mostly you!" Buffy said.

"What are these spidy-senses?" Spock asked curiously.

"Don't you try to change the subject!" Buffy snapped.

Spock sighed, then an idea came to mind. "I will tell you, if you agree to exchange knowledge with me."

Buffy crossed her arms. "What do you want to know?" She asked suspiciously.

Spock took a deep breath. "When you were explaining the two times you died to me and Kirk, I couldn't help but wonder why you ended your relationship with Angel if you loved him so much." Spock said.

The same pain that Spock had seen before flashed across Buffy's eyes.

"If you don't want to talk about it . . ." Spock began, but Buffy waved him off.

"No, it's okay. I was wondering when you were going to ask about it. You're too smart to let something like that go unnoticed." Buffy said.

Spock looked at Buffy in surprise. "You think I'm smart?" He asked.

Buffy looked at Spock in surprise. "Of course I do, doesn't everyone on this ship think so?" She asked.

Spock shook his head. "They mostly just acknowledge the fact that I have no emotions, and that I think that everything is illogical if it can't be weighed or measured or explained scientifically." Spock said.

Buffy smiled wryly. "Well, I respect smart people. My friend Willow and my Watcher Giles are some of the smartest people I know." Buffy said.

"You don't ever make sarcastic comments to them?" Spock asked, knowing that it would be hard for Buffy to refrain from making a sarcastic comment to someone.

Buffy squirmed. "Well, maybe a few times to Giles, but that's because I have a problem with authority figures!" Buffy said defensively.

Spock thought about making a comment on how that was what Captain Kirk was like as well, but for some reason decided not to talk about the new Captain.

"Do you want my answer first, or would you rather state your information instead?" Spock asked.

Buffy looked up at him, confused, but then realization dawned on her face.

"Oh, well I can-" Buffy began, but the doors opened to reveal the Bridge. She quickly stepped away from Spock before the doors opened fully, and it wasn't until then that Spock realized that in their conversation they had moved closer together. Captain Kirk spun around in his chair when he heard the doors open, and he walked up to the elevator, a grim look on his face.

"What's all the hullabaloo?" Buffy asked.

Kirk sighed and turned to Spock. "Remember that Romulan ship that had Nero in it?" Kirk asked.

Spock nodded, and he noticed Buffy's brow creasing in confusion.

"Who's Nero? Have you guys done this time-jump thing before?" Buffy asked.

Kirk shook his head. "No. Well, sort of. Maybe. Okay, not really, but Spock has. Or, will, or already has. I hate time travel, it makes me all confused." Kirk said.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I know what you mean. You won't believe how many times I've been wacked out by prophecies. _The Anointed One shall lead the Slayer into Hell_." Buffy said in a deep mystical voice.

Spock's forehead creased again. "The Anointed One?"

"Never mind, but you _do_ remember Nero, right Spock?" Kirk asked.

"How could I forget him?" Spock asked.

"Well, as it turns out, his son escaped the destruction of Romulan, and guess what? He found a black hole that conveniently led him _straight to us_. Now he's out for blood. _Our blood!_" Kirk said, emphasizing the last sentence.

"What is the son's name?" Spock asked, curious.

"Julius." Kirk answered.

Buffy snickered. "Nero and Julius? Ha ha, like the Greek Emperors." Buffy said.

"Roman," Spock corrected.

"I knew that." Buffy said quickly.

A smile twitched at the edges of Kirk's lips, but it quickly faded.

"Julius sent us a message." He said.

"Do you mind showing it to us?" Spock asked.

Kirk nodded and looked at Uhura. She nodded and entered a code on her computer. Immediately, on the screen there was a face that was heavily tattooed, even on the shaved scalp. The ears were pointed like a Vulcan's, but the resemblance ended there. The man's eyes were filled with seething anger and hate.

The man sneered at the screen. "Hello, Captain James Kirk. And hello, Spock. You were the ones who killed my father, the rest of the crew left living told me that. Don't pretend like you don't know who I'm talking about, Nero was a great threat to you, yes? So you eliminated him, simply because you wanted revenge for your father's death. Well, now it's my turn for revenge. I am going to avenge my father's death. Don't even try to hide behind the skirt of that petty little Slayer you've got. That's right, I know about Buffy. She is quite a legend. She's died twice, the longest living Slayer in all of history, and she's fought and _won_ against some of the most feared demons of all time: Angelus, William the Bloody, Darla, and Drusilla. Not to mention the First, the revered Glorificus, the "Dark Prince" Dracula, and the Master. No, I've brought something back that should catch your attention right away, Little Queen. You all will die, and none of you will be able to pull a Buffy on us." The man said, sneering.

"Remember my name you cowards. Julius. The Roman's quaked at that name, as will you now." Julius said, before his image disappeared.

Spock's head was swimming. How did the Romulan's know of Buffy, when the humans or Vulcans didn't? Was it because the Romulan's were more warlike? Was it because Buffy was a war legend? And another thing, Spock had not missed the flicker of pain when Julius said the names "Angelus" and "William the Bloody". Was Angelus linked to Angel?

Kirk turned around to Buffy. "There was something I wanted to ask you after seeing this message." He said.

Buffy almost flinched, as if she knew what the question was going to be.

"You've fought _Dracula?!_"

* * *

Kirk turned around to face Buffy, and she feared the words that would escape his lips.

"There was something I wanted to ask you after seeing this message." He said.

Buffy felt unwanted memories and fears flood through her body. He was say that he noticed the similarities between the names Angel and Angelus. He was going to ask about them, and when he found out he would either hunt down Angel to kill him, or he was going to kick Buffy off of the _Enterprise_. Either way, the end result wasn't good. And also, who was this enemy brought back that would catch Buffy's attention. Realization dawned on Buffy, and she almost cried. It was obvious, Julius had somehow woken up Angelus. It would happen all over again. Buffy would have to kill Angel and send him to Hell all over again. Angel would be lost to her, but this time he would never come back. Buffy braced herself for the bombard of questions.

"You've fought _Dracula?!_" Kirk asked incredulously.

Buffy almost heaved a sigh of relief.

"Yes, I have fought Dracula. It wasn't fun. He turned my friend Xander into a 'spider eating man-bitch' as Xander put it. After Xander was free of Dracula's thrall, Xander said, and I quote, 'I'm sick of this crap! I'm sick of being the guy who eats insects and gets the funny syphilis. As of this moment, it's over. I'm finished being everybody's butt-monkey.'" Buffy said.

Kirk snickered. "Funny syphilis?" He asked.

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, Xander accidentally aroused some angry Native American spirits, and they unleashed on him all of the diseases that the immigrants infected them with. Included in those diseases were pox and syphilis."

Kirk looked like he was going to burst out laughing, but he held it in.

"Captain, I believe that it would be wise for us to take Buffy and discuss this message in private." Spock whispered, making sure that it was loud enough so that only Buffy and Kirk could hear it.

Kirk nodded, and he ushered Buffy and Spock into the elevator. Buffy had no idea where they were going, but it took less time than usual for them to get to their desired floor. Once the doors opened, Kirk led them to a room, with which he took a card out of his pocket to open the door. Once inside, the door closed shut behind them.

"What's this about Spock?" Kirk asked, some hints of curiosity and annoyance and concern flickering over his eyes.

By way of answer, Spock turned to Buffy. "I think we need some more answers." Spock said expectantly.

Buffy immediately felt her insides grow cold, and she immediately froze up. She felt so uneasy and afraid that only one word escaped her lips.

"Crap,"


	6. Secrets

"Crap" Said Buffy, and Spock immediately knew that he and Captain Kirk were treading on unwelcome territory, and that it would cause Buffy to feel more pain. Spock didn't like hurting Buffy, but her time of keeping secrets was just about up.

"Buffy, you must tell us. I have noticed the similarities between the names 'Angel' and 'Angelus'. Your reactions to the names have been similar as well. What is the connection?" Spock asked, wishing he could have been gentler than that.

Buffy looked at him, her eyes bottomless pools filled with endless pain, but then they changed, like a steel wall had been built in front of them.

"There is no connection," she said, her voice not having the slightest waver.

Spock narrowed his eyes, and he stepped close to Buffy until he was towering over her.

"Alright then, remember what you were going to tell me on the elevator? Tell me now."

Buffy looked at him as if she were going to argue, but then she sighed.

"Alright, alright. You want to know why I broke up with Angel? Fine." Buffy said, sitting down on a chair.

Kirk looked from Spock to Buffy incredulously.

"You asked Buffy about her personal life, Spock? Either you've become more nosy than usual or you've got it bad for Buffy." Kirk said, a smile spreading across his face.

"Shut up and sit down Jim, you too, Spock. This may take a while." Buffy said.

Spock and Kirk did as Buffy suggested, and Buffy took a deep breath.

"Alright, here goes nothing."

**line break**

Buffy took a deep breath as she was about to open up a whole lot of pain. She couldn't lie to Kirk and Spock, not now. Too much was at stake, and she knew from experience that secrets kept too long became dangerous, and usually cost someone their life. She took a deep breath as she was about to spill one of her most painful and closely guarded secrets ever.

"Alright, here goes nothing. Angel is the first vampire I dated, and he was a very special vampire as well. I'm not just saying that because I love him, but because it's true. There's no vampire like him anywhere. You see, when a human get's turned into a vampire, they lose their soul, and they get a demon in place of it. Well, Angel was no different when he got turned. He was turned by a vampire named Darla, and she and Angel – or Angelus as he chose to call himself – were a pretty fearsome couple. A couple decades after Angelus was turned, he turned a woman named Drusilla into a vampire, but before he did, he killed her family and tortured her until she was insane. Well, after that, Drusilla turned a bad poet into a vampire, his name was William. He later became known as William the Bloody, and after that, Spike. The four of them were the most feared vampires in the world, but Angelus was the worst, even though it was Spike who killed two Slayers. Well, one day Angelus fed on a gypsy girl, and for revenge, the gypsy's family cursed Angelus. They realized that the ultimate torture for a vampire who had done as much carnage as Angelus, would be to give then their soul back. Angelus became Angel, and he spent most of his time feeding on rats and living in the sewers feeling sorry for himself after the other three in his group kicked him out. Angel was almost tortured by his victims ghosts – figuratively speaking – for almost an entire century. However, fate or the Powers that Be decided to send Angel to Sunnydale, where he met me.

"Well, on my seventeenth birthday, we had just fought a big fight and, I had to crash at his place, and we shared a rather intimate moment if you know what I mean." Buffy said.

"You don't need to expand any further." Spock said firmly, his comment directed mostly at Kirk, who looked like he wanted expansion.

"Yeah, well that was a moment of pure happiness for Angel, and since the purpose of the gypsy curse was to keep Angel unhappy, the curse was broken and he became Angelus once more." Buffy said, unwanted memories flooding through her mind.

"That sucks," Kirk said.

"I agree, though I would have put it more delicately than Captain Kirk." Spock said.

Buffy sighed. "Yeah, well, he teamed up with Drusilla and Spike who had come to Sunnydale – he had killed Darla when she tried to kill me – and with their help, he reawakened a demon that had been petrified just as he was about to open a portal that would swallow the Earth into Hell. The only way to stop the portal was to kill the one who opened it, so I had to kill Angelus. Except, Willow had replaced the curse on him just as the portal opened, so instead of killing Angelus and sending him to Hell, it was Angel." Buffy felt tears sting her eyes, as she remembered the moment as if it had happened only a second ago.

"I'm sorry," Spock whispered, and Buffy didn't miss the fact that he kicked Kirk in the shins.

"Ow, Spock! An elbow jab would have done fine. I'm sorry, too, Buffy." Kirk said, rubbing the spot where Spock had kicked him.

Buffy sniffed. "Yeah, well the Powers that Be returned Angel back to Sunnydale, but then after we stopped the Mayor from eating my graduating class and we blew up the school, Angel left." Buffy said, trying to hold back any more tears, as she didn't want to cry in front of Kirk and Spock.

"That jerk! You know, if you need a shoulder to cry on, mine is always open." Kirk said.

"Was there any reason why he left?" Spock asked curiously.

"He didn't want to take the chance that Angelus might be reawakened." Buffy said.

"Did you ever see Spike after the Angelus incident?" Spock asked.

"Really nicely put Spock. 'The Angelus incident.' No wonder Uhura broke up with you." Kirk said.

Buffy saw a flicker of annoyance and something else cross Spock's eyes, but she couldn't recognize it.

"It's alright. Yes, I did, he was captured by a secret government organization that specialized in hunting and studying demons. They put a chip in his head that prevented him from hurting any humans. He came to me and the gang for shelter since he couldn't hunt, and somewhere along the way he developed a thing for me." Buffy said.

Kirk unexpectedly burst out laughing. "The vampire that you fought and defeated that hated you with every fiber of his existence _fell for you?_" Kirk asked.

Spock frowned. "And you accused me of being insensitive."

Buffy glared at Kirk. "When I found out I felt like throwing up or running away screaming or all at the same time. Spike was good-looking and all, but I hated him so much that even just the thought of having a romantic relationship with him made me want to hurl out my intestines and die. Well, it turns out that he went through being tortured by an insane goddess to protect my sister, and he went through some trials to get his soul back so that I might even consider him." Buffy said.

"Was he the second vampire?" Spock asked.

Buffy gave Spock an exasperated look.

"Sometimes, Spock, you're just a bit too observant and smart for my liking." Buffy said.

"Was he?" Kirk asked, leaning forward in his chair expectantly.

Buffy sighed. "Remember when I said that the second time I died, I jumped into a portal to save the world and my sister? And that my friends brought me back because they thought I was suffering in a Hell dimension?" Buffy asked.

Kirk and Spock nodded.

Buffy sighed as more unwanted memories and pain flooded through her mind.

"Well, I wasn't suffering in Hell, I was in paradise. I think I was in Heaven." Buffy said.

Kirk and Spock stared at Buffy with open mouths.

"That freakin' _sucks_." Kirk said, though he didn't say freakin'.

Buffy nodded. "I know, well, I was so upset about being pulled out of Heaven, but I couldn't tell my friends, it would upset them too much. The only one I could tell was Spike, since he didn't participate or even know that a spell was being performed to bring me back. Well, I guess you could say I used him as a drug to help blot out the pain. I eventually stopped because it finally got through to my conscience that it wasn't right to use Spike like that, but he thought it was because I thought he wasn't good enough for me. So, he got himself a soul. It ended up in saving the world, because he used an amulet that Angel gave me to magnify his soul into a weapon that killed off millions of uber-vamps, but it killed him in the process. He was a true champion. I never loved Spike, and I don't know if I ever will, but I loved what he had become, and what he did. I just wish he could have lived to do more good in the world." Buffy said.

There was a period of awkward silence, which was broken by Spock.

"You believe that the Romulans have resurrected Angelus." Spock said.

Buffy glared at Spock. "You're really starting to annoy me with that creepy foreshadowing of yours. I bet you figured out how a book ended half-way through." Buffy said bitterly.

"How do we know if the Romulans have brought back Angelus or not?" Kirk asked.

"Can you get a signal up here?" Buffy asked, holding up her cell-phone,


	7. Help

Things were hectic at Wolfram and Hart. Not in a bad way, they were currently having their Halloween Bash, and Harmony was having a blast. Sure, she was the only one on the dance floor, and Spike was unusually happy for a non-corporeal vampire, and Fred and Wesley were drunk even though they had absolutely nothing to drink, and there _was_ the fact that Gunn was peeing everywhere, but the party was still awesome. However, there was something wrong with Angel. He and Eve had disappeared into his office, and with her super vampire hearing, Harmony thought she could hear some moans and some bumps coming from inside. If she found out that Angel was torturing and slowly killing Eve without her, Harmony wouldn't talk to Angel for a week.

Just then, with her super-vampire hearing, Harmony heard the phone ring at her desk. She quickly ran over to the phone and put it to her ear.

"Hello, Wolfram and Hart, Angel's desk, how can I help you?" Harmony recited.

"Uh, could you put on – Harmony?" A voice said incredulously.

Harmony gasped. "Buffy? OMG! Let me guess, you want to talk to Angel, right?" Harmony began, but Spike walked through the desk and straight to Harmony.

"Buffy's on? Can I talk to her?" Spike asked brightly.

Harmony covered the microphone part of the phone with her palm, and gave Spike one of her glares.

"No! You can't even hold the phone." Harmony pointed out.

"You can hold it to my ear!" Spike suggested.

"No!" Harmony said before removing her hand from the phone and putting it back to her ear.

"Sorry about that. Listen, I'd put you on with Angel but~" Harmony began, but Spike interrupted her.

"Buffy! Buffy! It's me!" Spike shouted.

"Shut up Spike! Sorry Buffy." Harmony said apologetically.

"Was that Spike?" Buffy asked, sounding surprised.

"Oh, yeah. Like I said, I'd put you on with Angel, but I think he's torturing a girl in his office. Bye!" Harmony said brightly before hanging up.

* * *

Buffy closed her cell-phone in a daze; she had forgotten how confusing Harmony could be. It didn't help that she could barely hear the young vampire, it sounded like there was a party going on.

"Buff, is he mass-murderer or still broody-pants?" Kirk asked.

"You could have put it more gently than that." Spock chided.

"Oh, Spock, _you're_ giving me advice on how to be sensitive? That's a first."

"He's Angelus," Buffy answered, remembering what Harmony had said about him torturing some girl. Only Angelus would do that. And she remembered hearing Spike's voice on the other line.

"And he's resurrected Spike and he's soulless again as well." Buffy said.

"_Two_ mass-murdering vampires? Buffy, unless you can clone yourself, we're in trouble."

However, the realization that she would have to kill both Angel _and_ Spike sunk in, and the tears began to flow down her cheeks. She gasped for air as she began to drown in the horrible painful truth.

"I can't do this again." Buffy gasped, the tears stinging her eyes.

"Aw, don't cry Buffy! I hate it when a hot chick cries! Spock, you're the emotional expert here! Calm her down!" Kirk said, pushing Spock towards Buffy. Spock bumped into Buffy, and awkwardly guided her to sit down on the couch. Spock patted her shoulder, and his expression clearly said that he didn't know what he was doing.

"It . . . is alright Buffy. You restored Angel's soul before, didn't you? Why don't you try that?" Spock suggested.

"Exactly!" Kirk said, sitting down between Buffy and Spock.

Buffy brightened up a bit, but she soon realized the problem with that solution and began to bawl again. She managed to shake her head.

"I-I can't ask that of W-Will. I-I don't w-want her t-to accident-tally become V-Veiny W-Willow again. I-I can't s-sacrifice o-one friend for another." Buffy gasped out.

"Gosh, Spock, what a terrible idea, why'd you bring it up?" Kirk asked, standing up again.

Spock sighed and put his hand on Buffy's shoulder. "You don't have to fight Nero." He said.

It was tempting, but Buffy knew that Spock and Kirk didn't stand a chance against Angelus and William the Bloody. She sniffed, wiped the tears from her eyes and shook her head.

"No, I wouldn't forgive myself if Angelus and Spike killed you two. No, I need to take care of this, but I'm going to need to call in a helper." Buffy said sitting up a little bit straighter, leaving Buffy the girl behind and becoming Buffy the Slayer.

"Who are you going to call in?" Kirk asked.

Buffy smiled. "You'll like her; she's a slayer like me. She became the next Slayer after I died the first time. Well, actually, another girl was the Slayer, but she died and _then_ Faith became the Slayer." Buffy said.

"Her name's Faith? Let me guess, Catholic school girl?" Kirk asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Buffy looked at Kirk in surprise, and she burst out laughing. Kirk looked at Buffy, confusion clear on his face.

"What?" Kirk asked.

Buffy shook her head, smiling. "Nothing, it's just the thought of Faith being a Catholic school girl is so . . . . not Faithy. She's the exact opposite of a goody-goody religious school girl."

Kirk's eyes opened wide. "Ooh, I like her already." He said enthusiastically.

Buffy smiled. "I thought you might, I'll call her, and Scotty can beam her up by tracing the call." Buffy said.

Spock gave Buffy an impressed look. "See, you can adapt to new technology."

Buffy smiled at him. "Thanks, now I'll make this call before Faith goes out for patrol." Buffy said opening her phone. She flipped open her phone, and selected Faith's cell number from speed dial. She held the phone to her ear and waited patiently as it rang. It was finally answered by a panting voice.

"Faith?" Buffy asked.

"B? What's up? We haven't heard from you in days."

"Uh, I can't really explain it right now. Hey, listen, there's this teleportation thing, and I kinda need you right now."

"What's the deal? I'm a little busy right now." Faith said.

"Angelus and William the Bloody are back." Buffy said bluntly.

There was a pause, and then Faith finally spoke. "Give me five minutes, I need some time to get ready."

"Okay," Buffy said, glad that Faith was on board.

While Faith was getting ready, Buffy, Spock, and Kirk made their way down to the teleportation room. After some patient waiting, Buffy's phone rang, and the voice that came through was Faith's.

"I'm ready," Faith said.

"She's ready," Buffy said to Scotty.

The small man nodded, and began to type on his row of buttons. After a while, Faith's voice came through the phone.

"What the f~" Faith began, but her voice was cut off. After a while, her form materialized on the teleportation pad. She was dressed in a tight black camisole and tight leather pants. Her phone was still to her ear, and she looked pretty bewildered. She looked around, her eyes wide, until they fell on Buffy. Buffy winced, expecting Faith to give her a whole 'warn me next time' rant, but to her surprise, Faith jumped off the teleportation pad and kissed Buffy on the forehead.

"Man, B. You've gotta warn me next time. It was still rockin', though. The whole gang has been worried sick about ya. What's all this about Angelus and William the Blood and who are the science convention guys?" Faith asked.

"Hey! Do I look like some science convention geek to you?" Kirk asked, his face expressing over dramatized mock hurt.

Faith turned to Kirk, and looked him up and down.

"Well, you certainly dress the part, but I'll admit, you don't look like the kind of guy to dress up in leotards unless you're~" Faith began, but Kirk cut her off.

"Okay! I get the picture, and believe me when I say this uniform wasn't my idea. Spock here can probably give you a reason why this is our uniform, but it's probably just a jumble of dates and stuff. You won't remember any of it." Kirk said.

Faith cocked an eyebrow, and turned to Spock, and looked him up and down just like she did with Kirk.

"Is Hermy here Spock?" Faith asked.

Kirk and Scotty snickered, and Buffy just smiled at Spock's confused look.

"'Hermy'?" Spock asked.

Faith nodded. "Want to be a dentist when you grow up?" Faith asked.

This roused more snickers from Kirk and Scotty, while Spock continued to look confused.

"Dentist?" He asked.

"Yes, Faith, this is Spock. And yes, those ears are real." Buffy said.

"Oh, I don't doubt the ears, it's the hair I'm not so sure of. That and the eyebrows." Faith said, eyeing Spock's straight cut jet black hair and oddly angled eyebrows.

"My eyebrows?" Spock asked.

"Cut him some slack, Faith." Buffy said.

"I will, once I know what the hell is going on!" Faith said.

Buffy sighed. "Alright, you guys want to help me?" Buffy asked, looking to each of the three men in the transporter room.

"I've got to work on the engine, it sounds like over-cooked haggis." Scotty said, hurrying out of the room.

"I've got to go bother Bones." Kirk said, following Scotty.

Spock sighed. "Then I must go make sure that the Captain and Dr. McCoy don't hurt each other." Spock said, reluctantly following Kirk.

"They're keepers." Faith said, turning to Buffy with a smile on her face.

"Thanks," Buffy said dryly.

"Now," Faith said, sitting down in a near bye chair. "What's going on?" She asked expectantly.

Buffy spent the next hour explaining how she had met Spock, Kirk, and Bones – she had adopted Kirk's name for the doctor – and what had happened since she first stepped foot upon the _Enterprise_. Once Buffy had finished her story, Faith sat back in her chair, surprise clear on her face.

"How did the _Enterprise_ get here?" Faith asked.

Buffy shrugged. "I don't know, right now I'm worried about the Romulans, how Angel lost his soul, and how they brought Spike back to life and took his soul away, too." Buffy said, old memories coming back to her as she put her head in her hands.

"Well, if they really did bring Spike back to life, that's okay, right? I mean, even when he was soulless he still had it bad for you. That's the whole reason why he got a soul." Faith said.

Hope filled Buffy as Faith said this, but it quickly faded.

"No, the Romulans are too smart. If they could figure out a way to bring Spike back to life and take away his soul, then they would have figured out away to make him forget that he loved me." Buffy said.

Buffy felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and she looked up and saw Faith looking at Buffy, pity in her eyes.

"I'm sorry B. I wish I could make this better, but I'm afraid the only thing I can do is help you kick Angelus and William's sorry asses. Compassion really isn't my thing." Faith said apologetically.

Buffy gave Faith a weak smile. "It's alright. I really don't feel in the mood for feeling sorry for myself, anyways. What I really want to do is kick some Romulans to the other side of the galaxy. You with me?" Buffy asked hopefully.

Faith shrugged. "Sure, I love the chance to beat something up. You've got to promise me one thing, though."

"What?" Buffy asked.

"Don't say anything like 'kick them across the galaxy' again, or I'll kick _you_ across the galaxy."


	8. Before the Battle

Spock sat in his room, massaging his temples. The past few days had been stressful on his mind, what with all of the new concepts that took all of the Vulcan logic that had been hammered into his head and ground them into dust. Vampires, witches, demons, slayers, and magic, all of it just wasn't possible. And yet, here he was, just a few hours away from going on a mission with his captain and two slayers to slay the two most deadly vampires of all time. It had been a day since Buffy had called in the help of Faith, and they had decided to wait a while before going in search of Angelus and William the Bloody, due to Buffy's confirmation call to Wolfram and Hart.

Spock groaned and laid his head on the table. Buffy. Just the very name gave him a migraine. She was very alike the captain in her sarcastic and carefree manner, though since she had been a slayer for seven years, Spock assumed that she knew what she was doing.

However, the fact that she died twice made him doubt her abilities just a little.

Spock sat up and frowned. He still didn't quite understand how the Romulans had been aware of Buffy's existence, and the Vulcans were not. There were records of every single important figure in every known species history in the Vulcan Government's library. Every explorer, war hero, and ruler was mentioned at least somewhere in the books. And Spock was pretty sure that he would remember mention of a girl gifted with mystical strength to fight the unnatural forces of evil.

Spock let out another groan, and was seriously considering banging his head against the wall to block out the pain from the head-ache he was getting, when he heard a voice.

"Oh, I know, Tuesday s make me want to groan too." A female voice said.

Spock turned around and saw Buffy standing in his doorway.

"Hello, Buffy," Spock said, a little surprised.

"Hey Spock. Sorry I didn't knock. Well, actually, I tried, but the door just slid open." Buffy said.

Spock nodded. "I programmed it to open for acquaintances." He said.

Buffy arched both her eyebrows. "Wow, you programmed your door? I couldn't even program my pencil. If that's even possible." Buffy said.

"It depends on what kind of pencil," Spock said.

Buffy stared at the Vulcan. "Wait, that was me acting stupid. You mean you can actually program a _pencil_?" Buffy asked incredulously.

Spock blinked. "No, that was my attempt at a joke," he admitted.

There was an awkward silence.

"Oh, I get it. Sorry, I ruined it with my ignorance of your advanced technology," Buffy said, feeling embarrassed.

Spock shook his head. "Do not worry; I often fail when it comes to humor. It isn't unsuccessful joke." Spock said.

"Really? Because, you know, that joke would have been kind of funny if it weren't for my whole being-from-the-wrong-time thing. You probably wouldn't get any of my Kanye West jokes either." Buffy said.

Spock wrinkled his brow. "Who?" He asked.

"Exactly!" Buffy exclaimed.

Spock just shook his head and decided to change the conversation before he was confused too much.

"How's Faith?" Spock asked.

Buffy shrugged. "I don't know. I don't get into her life and she doesn't get into mine. Too much. But knowing Faith, she's probably either out on patrol, in a club getting drunk, or in a club getting lucky."

"Is that all Faith does in her free time?" Spock asked.

"Pretty much," Buffy said.

"If you don't mind my saying, you have a rather strange collection of friends." Spock said.

"Hey, if you were in my line of work you'd meet some strange people, too." Buffy said defensively.

"If I was in your line of work I'd be a girl," Spock shot back.

Buffy laughed. "See! That was funny!"

"What was funny?" Kirk asked as he walked into the room.

Buffy shook her head. "Nothing,"

A mock-pained look came onto Kirk's face.

"You two have an inside joke? And I'm not in?" Kirk asked.

An equally mocking pitying look came onto Buffy's face. "Aww, don't worry Jimmy: just because Spock and I are secret lovers doesn't mean that we'll completely neglect you."

Kirk nearly fell over laughing at that one, whilst Spock just looked around, hopelessly embarrassed and confused.

"Buffy, why was I not alerted to this?" Spock asked.

Buffy laughed. "Don't worry, Spock, it's just a joke."

"Ah, I see. I however, would like to ask that the next time you make a joke, that it doesn't involve both me and . . . well, that other thing." Spock said, feeling his ears coloring.

"What, getting this reaction from Jim isn't worth a little discomfort?" Buffy asked, gesturing to the Captain on the floor. When it was said that he "nearly" fell over laughing, the word "actually" probably would have been better. If Kirk was texting, he would have been unable to type ROTFLOL due to his currently doing said action.

At that moment, however, Dr. McCoy decided to walk in. He glanced at Kirk and then looked back up at Buffy and Spock.

"What's gotten into Jim?" He asked.

"Hmm?" Buffy said, looking up. "Oh, he's just discovered that Spock and I –"

"Please don't," Spock said, his ears growing even hotter.

Bones took one look at Spock's rapidly coloring ears and then turned back to Buffy, an impressed look on his face.

"Man, Buffy. First you make Spock sensitive, and now he's blushing like a school girl. We should keep you around; you might make a human out of Spock yet." McCoy said.

At that time, Kirk decided to get up, but he still had trouble standing up straight, and it appeared like he had a bad case of the hiccups.

"What did I – hic – miss?" Jim asked.

Buffy looked up. "Oh, well, Spock, Bones, and I –"

"Please, no more jokes." Spock begged.

This only aroused more laughter from the other three occupants of the room, and if you weren't one of the laughers, you would have felt sorry for Spock.

"_Eh, Captain?"_ Came Chekov's voice through Kirk's transmitter.

Kirk took his transmitter and flipped it open. "Yes, Chekov?" he asked.

"_We've got a situation here," _Chekov said.

The four companions looked at each other, confusion and worry identical on their faces, all dreading what the news would be. All traces of humor gone, they made their way out of Spock's room, into the elevator and down to the Bridge. When they finally arrived, there was a grim silence in the room.

"What seems to be the problem, Chekov?" Kirk asked, putting one hand on the back of Chekov's chair and leaning on it.

"Well, Captain, I think it best that I show you." Chekov said, gulping.

Everyone turned their attention to the screen, and it showed an image of a strange, chaotic looking ship. It was huge, and had a crude, hastily-put-together look to it.

"What is that?" Buffy asked.

"It's a Romulan ship," Kirk said grimly.

"Let me guess, it's far more advanced than it should be." Buffy said.

"Yep," Kirk answered.

"Revenge-seeking-son-from-the-future?" Buffy asked.

"Mmmhhmm," Kirk said.

"Yep, it must be a Tuesday." Buffy murmured.

"I suggest you contact Faith," Spock said.

"Way ahead of you," Buffy said, her phone already out and to her ear. There was a short pause before Buffy spoke into it.

"Hey Faith, it's Buff. No, no one kidnapped Dawn. No, it's not an apocalypse." Buffy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like that would ever happen – get real Faith, not every myth is true." Buffy said.

"Could have fooled me," Kirk whispered to McCoy.

"No Faith! 'One of my ex-vampire boyfriends isn't on a bloodthirsty rampage. And for your information, that only happened twice." Buffy said.

"Kind of in a hurry here," Kirk reminded Buffy.

She shot him a glare before speaking again. "Hmm, what could it possibly be? Oh, I don't know, do the words ALIENS and SPACE SHIPS and POSSIBLY EVIL ANGELUS AND SPIKE?" Buffy asked. Once more, Buffy paused while Faith spoke.

"Okay! Okay, so the ex-vampire boyfriend on a rampage thing was kinda right, but you're missing the point here! I need your help!" Buffy said before rolling her eyes again. "Yes, right now! I don't care – oh, well in _that_ case, no. Don't give me that attitude; you need to sort out your priorities. Look, I'm telling Scotty to beam you up whether you're ready or not!" and with that, Buffy snapped shut her phone and rolled her eyes.

"Problems?" Kirk asked, arching an eyebrow.

"She can be so goddamn difficult sometimes," Buffy growled before pushing past the captain to the elevator.

Spock turned to Kirk. "Do you want me to go with her to make sure that she doesn't hurt Faith?" Spock asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, go ahead." Kirk said, his eyes on Lt. Uhura. She had recently gotten a new haircut, and Spock knew that the captain was admiring it along with other things. Before leaving, Spock whispered to McCoy.

"Try to make sure that the Captain doesn't harass Lt. Uhura too much,"

McCoy nodded, and Spock followed Buffy onto the elevator. There was a long period of silence before either of them spoke.

"So . . . you never did tell me what was going on with you and Uhura," Buffy said.

"We explored a brief relationship. I decided that we were not compatible and ended it. She did not take to it kindly." Spock said, keeping his face emotionless and his voice deadpan.

Buffy arched her eyebrows. "How were you not compatible?" she asked.

"She is a human, I am half Vulcan. We are from a different species, therefore not compatible." Spock said.

"So? I dated two vampires who were hundreds of years older than me. My friend Xander hasn't had a single girlfriend who wasn't or hadn't been at some time a demon. My friend Willow dated a werewolf, and after that a girl. Species and or gender don't matter." Buffy said, crossing her arms.

Spock cleared his throat. "I believed that she wanted to take our relationship to an intimate level that I was not comfortable with." He said awkwardly.

"Ah, I get it. The whole 'good touch bad touch' thing." Buffy said.

"It's not just that I was uncomfortable with the concept, Buffy." Spock said.

"Then what was it?" Buffy asked.

"Vulcans mate for life. And I was unsure whether or not Uhura – if I –"

"You didn't know if she was the right person." Buffy murmured.

"Exactly," Spock said.

Buffy nodded. "I know what you mean," she whispered, and Spock could have sworn he saw the beginnings of tears in her eyes.

"Are you alright?" Spock asked.

Buffy nodded, and hastily wiped at her eyes. "Yeah, it's just bad memories, that's all." She said.

"Memories of people who were the wrong ones?" Spock asked.

Buffy nodded. "Definitely the wrong ones."

What she said next Spock didn't hear, but he made out a foul word shortly followed by the name "Parker"

"Do you need someone vaporized?" Spock asked.

Buffy laughed weakly. "Thanks, but no thanks. I have no qualms about killing vampires and demons, but people go against my morals. No matter how big of a pervert, creep, jerk, or son of a b*** they might be." Buffy said, suddenly seeming less sad and more angry.

"I will say it again, I do have the ability to vaporize anyone you want, and I will have no qualms about it. Just tell me their name and I'll even do it without your knowing if you want." Spock offered, attempting humor again.

"Stop it, damn it, before you change my mind." Buffy growled.

"You can't blame me for trying." Spock said.

The two looked at each other, and they burst into suppressed laughter.

"Thanks, Spock, I needed some laughs." Buffy said.

"No, thank you, now I know how to make a joke." Spock said.

The two smiled at each other, and Spock found himself entranced by Buffy's green eyes. So full of pain, sorrow, and horror, yet so full of light, Spock found them fascinating. What terrible and wonderful things those eyes had seen. He wondered how they had aged so by years of war, yet still retained that playful youthfulness. It was then that Spock realized why Buffy always made those ill-timed jokes: they were the only thing keeping her rooted to sanity. If she kept everything serious, Spock knew that she would have lost her mind, gone insane from the weight on her shoulders and all of the losses and horrors and hells she had seen. She wasn't doing it because she didn't realize the gravity of the situation; she did it to save herself.

The doors decided to slide open then, and Spock and Buffy were snapped out of their trance. They both walked up to Scotty, and Buffy opened her cell phone.

"Hello Faith," Buffy said before laying the phone on the transporter board. His hands moving so fast you could barely see them, Scotty quickly traced Faith's call and typed in her coordinates. Soon, there was a ripple on the transporter pad, and Faith materialized. She glared at Buffy and stomped off of the transporter pad.

"You could have given me a warning." Faith growled.

Buffy shrugged. "You were being uncooperative, so I had to result to force."

"Yeah, the friggin force of cosmos." Faith grumbled.

"Uh, actually, it's physics, not mystics." Scotty said.

"Whatever," Faith said, looking at Scotty before turning back to Buffy.

"So, evil super-vampire guys?" Faith asked.

"Yep," Buffy said.

"Revenge-seeking alien with an army?"

"Yep,"

"Damn, must be a Tuesday."

_Sorry it took me so long to update! I've been super procrastinating, so you can flame me for that if you want! Hope you liked the chapter! I'll update ASAP!_

_~FantasticMisticalWonder (Wonder/FMW)_


	9. The Spider

_Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or Star Trek. Joss the Boss owns BTVS and Angel, and as for Star Trek, I forget who owns that – I know, I'm a terrible Trekkie. *sob* - but all rights belong to their original owners. I'm just putting down a story that popped up into my twisted little mind *evil laugh*._

* * *

Things were tense on the _Enterprise_. The Romulan ship was still in view, and as it loomed closer and closer, the growing feeling of dread just got stronger and stronger.

It was agreed that both Kirk and Spock would accompany Buffy and Faith onto the ship, as its layout was bound to be similar to that of Nero's ship, and it would be helpful to have someone with current technological knowledge around, just in case some security codes needed hacking. Faith had gone down to Earth one last time while Buffy strategized with Jim and Spock, and when the second Slayer returned, she brought with her the mystical scythe and the Troll God hammer that Buffy had used in her fight against Glory. Faith had insisted on Buffy using the scythe, stating that "I feel more in a smashing mood tonight, anyways."

"Buffy, are you alright?" Spock asked when the strategizing was over. Kirk and Faith had left, and Spock had noticed a conflicted look in Buffy's eyes.

"We're going to have to fight Romulans, aren't we?" Buffy whispered.

Spock nodded. "Since Mr. Scott has absolutely no idea of the layout of the Romulan ship, it is very possible that we are going to be transported right into a swarm of them."

"Will we have to kill them?" Buffy asked.

"Incapacitating them should suffice, but Julius is another matter entirely. We did have to kill his father, Nero, last time." Spock left out that the explosion caused by the red-matter most likely killed everyone else on the ship with Nero.

Buffy looked up at Spock, and the Vulcan could almost see the turmoil going on inside the Slayer.

"Are Romulans . . . how much are they like humans? Like Vulcans?" Buffy asked.

"Buffy, I can understand your hesitance to kill. You told me about your morals preventing you from taking the life of anything with a soul, but let me tell you something about Romulans: they're war-like creatures. If they have souls or consciences, they refuse to use them. Peace-treaties have been attempted with them in the past, but the only thing resembling any kind of treaty is a 'don't bother us and we won't bother you', and considering that the Romulans go out of their way to conquer and destroy every planet that they feel the impulse to ruin, we aren't on the friendliest terms with them." Spock explained, feeling anger rush up in him as he remembered the destruction of Vulcan.

"Did they hurt you?" Buffy asked, almost reading the Vulcan's mind.

"They destroyed my home planet, and they murdered my mother." Spock said, fighting to keep his emotions in check and resisting the urge to scream and pound on the walls.

Buffy looked up at Spock sympathetically. "I know what it feels like to lose your mother." She said.

Spock looked down at Buffy in surprise. "I – I'm sorry," he stammered.

"It's alright, a brain tumor got her, not friggin aliens, though that almost happened, too." Buffy said.

Spock continued to stare at Buffy incredulously. "You just get more and more confusing,"

"Get in line." Buffy muttered.

"Don't worry about Julius – the Captain and I will most likely deal with him, since you and Faith will be preoccupied with Angelus and William the Bloody." Spock said.

Buffy looked down, and Spock suddenly wished that he could have bitten on his tongue before saying his previous sentence.

"Yeah – Angel and Spike." Buffy said, disguised pain in her voice.

Spock grabbed Buffy by the shoulders and bent down so that he was eye-to-eye with her. "Listen to me – what you and Faith will be fighting will not be Angel and Spike. Angel and Spike are dead: only their demons exist right now. They're monsters, not the men you fell in love with." Spock said firmly.

Buffy looked at Spock, and he could see the gratefulness in her eyes, but still the pain. "Thank you Spock, I needed that." And then Buffy surprised Spock by kissing him lightly on the cheek before exiting the room.

Just as Buffy exited, Kirk entered. He looked at Buffy in surprise as she left, and then looked back at Spock curiously.

"What was that all about?" Kirk asked, jerking a thumb in Buffy's direction.

"Buffy needed some words of comfort." Spock said.

Kirk arched an eyebrow. "You? Giving words of comfort? Man, you must really dig Buffy."

"I sensed she was low in morale, and decided to help. I am half human, Captain. Just because I decide not to use emotions most of the time does not mean I don't have them." Spock said pointedly.

"Ah ha! So you _do_ like Buffy!" Kirk said triumphantly.

"I find her interesting, yes. However, I do not have any romantic inclinations towards her." Spock said.

"Too bad, 'cause it's obvious she's got the hots for you." Kirk replied.

"Is that so?" Spock asked, raising an eyebrow. He could tell that Kirk was trying to extract some sort of emotional response that would "betray" his "true feelings."

"Oh, yeah, totally. I don't know how you missed it. It's obvious she wants you bad." Kirk said.

"Hm," Spock replied.

"You know, I don't get how you do it. I mean, first Uhura, now Buffy, you're like some sort of babe magnet. Maybe it's the ears." Kirk mused.

"Or perhaps it's the fact that I don't harass every member of the female species." Spock said wryly, clapping Kirk on the shoulder before leaving. As he left, Spock wore a small smug smile. He believed that he was getting the hang of interacting with Captain Kirk, and he was enjoying it immensely.

* * *

Now, if you thought the only inhabitants on the Enterprise were members of Starfleet – excluding the two Slayers, of course – you were wrong. There was in fact one inhabitant, who was not a member of Starfleet. In fact, Starfleet had never even heard of this stowaway's species.

He was known as The Spider. He had the typical eight legs, hairy body, and multiple eyes. Nothing seemed abnormally different about this arachnid. However, he was not just a spider. He was The Spider. The member of an almost extinct species. And that was the extent he knew of his kind. He had never met another like him, though he knew thye existed. He had never been to his home dimension, though he knew it was there, somewhere. No, all he knew was that there were very few like him, and that they were scattered all over the Universe, and throughout all dimensions. Quite possibly, he was the only one in this Galaxy, or even Universe. However, The Spider never felt lonely. He had long ago accepted the fact that he would probably never meet another one like him. He took comfort in the instinctual fact that they were out there, and went on with his existence. He had never really kept track of his age, but if he were to really think about it, he supposed he would be a little older than the planet Earth, which made him fairly young, compared to how long the rest of the Universe had existed for. Was he immortal? No, certainly not. He could be killed if someone were to step on him, or the like. He just seemed to _never stop existing_. Of course, he also had certain abilities. He could sense what people were thinking and feeling – call him an empath, if you will – and he could plant suggestions in people's minds. He couldn't force a person to think something, but he could nudge them in certain directions.

Very few people knew of his existence on the ship. And that had to be. For, you see, The Spider's existence completely depended on if people believed in him. So if he sensed that the belief was running low, he would make himself known to one or two people, and they would continue to believe in him, and his existence would be sustained. Of course, there were certain wiccans and demons and such who knew of him, but that wasn't exactly the same as having someone truly know he was there. Which is why he would occasionally pop out and let some poor random person know that he existed, and force them to live out the rest of his or her life knowing that there was a spider out there who could talk to people with his mind. (The Spider remembered giving some poor red-headed boy an awful scare once. Had run away screaming, afraid of spiders for the rest of his life, poor lad.) And he had done precisely that only a few months ago to the half-Vulcan known as Spock. Now, normally The Spider wouldn't have exposed himself to a Vulcan, due to the fact that they convince themselves that The Spider doesn't exist, and that usual ends up in him feeling queasy and light-headed. But Spock, Spock was different. He was half human, and humans had that wonderful ability to believe in practically anything they convinced themselves existed. And due to that constant belief, those things usually ended up in existing. The Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, there was even an Oh God of Hangovers and the Sock-Stealing Fairy. But, we're getting off track. The Spider had revealed himself to the unsuspecting half-human, and Spock was indeed one of the few people who knew of The Spider's existence. But, The Spider was feeling the belief sustaining him growing weak, and he decided it was time to reveal himself to another person.

There were plenty of people he could have revealed himself to. Captain Kirk, Chekov, hell, even McCoy. But the Spider wasn't very picky about who he let know of his existence. He just made sure that they had the ability to believe in him, and he jumped right in front of their faces and screamed "HELLO THERER!" into their minds. He normally avoided direct telepathic contact like that (it was so bothersome to try and figure out which language the person spoke, and implanting actual words was much more difficult than a mere idea or feeling into a mind. That, and The Spider found projecting actual words into a person's mind quite extraneous, and found himself hurting for days after only "speaking" barely half a sentence.) But, The Spider had learned mortals to be very thick at times, and they often required things to be blunt and to the point.

So, The Spider waited on the ceiling of a relatively quiet hallway. Not many people passed through it, and The Spider didn't want a whole crowd to find out about him. If too many people believed in him, that resulted in something similar as to a person eating too many tacos. Not a good feeling. So, he waited. Some people passed beneath him, but they didn't have the imagination, the capability of believing in a mystical spider. Finally, The Spider sensed a mind coming down the hall, a very special mind. One that already believed in many things that others found preposterous. This was the one. The Spider began to bounce on his silk string in anticipation. He loved the feeling of fresh belief. He waited; just a little closer . . . .

Perfect! The Spider fell from the ceiling, having estimated the approximate length of silk string he would need. He fell until the silk reached its end and pulled taut, letting him bounce a little, right in front of a pair of very startled large green eyes. The Spider sensed that this human – a female – understood human English, and translated his message as such.

_HELLO! I am The Spider. Would you believe in me? _The Spider asked.

The green eyes blinked. "Pardon?" the human female asked.

_I require belief to live. Believe in me?_ The Spider repeated, feeling a little light headed and exhausted from the effort of implanting his message into the human female's mind. That, and he could feel the belief level going down. Had he made a mistake and chosen the wrong human?

"Um, sure Spider. I'll believe in you. I mean, a talking spider isn't harder to believe in than vampires and demons." The female said.

Instantly, The Spider could feel a rush go through him. It was invigorating, soothing, and it felt like the best thing in the whole world. Ahh , belief.

The Spider conveyed his thanks by sending a sort of feeling of gratitude into the female's mind, and then climbed back up on his silk string quicker than the eye could see, and disappearing to go back to his nice, dark little corner.

* * *

Buffy blinked as The Spider disappeared, and then shook her head. First aliens, now talking insects – or whatever bug family spiders belonged to. What next? Puff the Magic Dragon?

"Does something seem to be the matter, Buffy?" Spock asked, coming up behind her.

Buffy turned around to face the Vulcan. "Huh? Oh, no, a talking spider just asked that I believe in him, that's all," Buffy said.

Spock raised an eyebrow. "He revealed himself to you too?" he asked.

Buffy looked at the half human in surprise. "You've met him?"

Spock nodded. "Yes, he accosted me only a few months ago and asked that I believe in him."

Buffy blinked. "So, I'm not going insane?"

"I'm not so sure about that, but The Spider is indeed real." Spock replied dryly.

Buffy laughed. "Careful Spock; your sense of humor's showing." She warned playfully.

"Spock's got a sense of humor? Since when?" McCoy asked, coming up.

"Hey, Bones." Buffy said.

"Nice to see you, Buffy. All ready for the big fight?" McCoy asked.

"As I'll ever be," Buffy said, sighing.

"Hey, you're not the only one not looking forward to this. I can guarantee you that I'm going to have to be patching up all of you after this is over." McCoy said irritably.

"I believe if you are looking to encourage us, you are failing." Spock said.

"Spock, don't give me advice on emotions. And I said that I'd have to patch you guys up. Last time I checked, saying I'm going to have to fix you up means there's still going to be something to fix." McCoy replied.

"Thanks, I think." Buffy said uncertainly.

"Don't mention it Blondy. Now, I'd better go and get some medical beds ready. I don't know about you and Faith, but last time we stormed a Romulan ship, we had two people who needed intensive medical care. One of them being our dumb-ass Captain." McCoy grumbled before walking to the Medical Bay.

"Is he always like that?" Buffy asked after McCoy was out of ear-shot.

"If you mean irritable and sarcastic, then yes, Doctor McCoy makes a habit of being like that." Spock replied.

"I bet he's a lot of fun at parties," Buffy murmured.

"Yo! B! We're almost ready to go smashin' some Romulan heads!" Faith shouted, running down the hall.

Buffy nodded, ignoring the slight churning in her stomach that had arrived with the words "smashing Romulan heads." Buffy knew that Faith didn't have exactly the same morals as she did, and the brunette slayer's mind had probably classified the Romulans as something akin to a species of demon. That, or she didn't care that they had souls.

"Great, we should tell Jim that we're ready for beaming." Buffy said.

"Already here!" Jim shouted, popping up behind Spock.

Buffy nodded. "Alright, we should go down to the transporter room. Faith, do you have my scythe?"

"Right here B." Faith said, handing Buffy the weapon.

Buffy took the scythe, and she instantly felt relief in the feeling of the mystical power coming from the weapon. Buffy looked up at Faith, and noticed her hefting the Troll Hammer, and then looked at Spock and Jim, knowing that they would have their phasers hidden somewhere on their person. Buffy took a deep breath.

"Alright, let's go kick some Romulan and vampire ass."

* * *

Okay, I'm SO sorry for taking so long in updating. Old Friends is almost done, I swear! I just decided to update on this one, because I felt so bad for neglecting you guys. I know not a lot happened in this chapter, and, to tell the truth, it is mostly filler. But, it did have a purpose! I have now formally introduced to you, Osperus' character, The Spider. He will be appearing again, I just wanted you guys to meet him. So, you guys can be assured that the next chapter posted WILL NOT be filler, and will indeed have battles and plot development and all of that good stuff. Again, sorry, about everything. You guys rock.

~FantasticMisticalWonder (FMW/Wonder)


	10. Apology

Hey guys. I know, I don't update in a year and then I just update with an author's note. I'm a terrible person, flame all you want, I just wanted to let you guys know what the deal is.

So, last year, my school year was more trying than usual, and it took up all my time and energy, and I had no time for writing of any sort. So I didn't update. I know, usual excuses. HOWEVER. I WILL be working on Alliances, Logic and Magic, There and Back Again, and When An Eagle Meets a Swan very soon!

. . . notice how I didn't say UPDATE.

As of right now, WAEMAS is the only one that will be getting updates, Alliances, LAM, and TABA will all be going through major REWRITES. Why? Well, I read back, thought that the previous chapters sucked, and also saw quite a few inaccuracies with canon, due to me being scatter-brained.

So, what will most likely happen is you won't see any activity on those stories for a while until I update them all up to their current points, and then I will resubmit all the chapters.

Another reason for my doing this is that I'm going to try to be more organized with my stories, as I really have no idea where some of them are going, and I want to fix that.

Notice how Point of No Return wasn't mentioned up there. I WILL be updating on that one, but I am actually contemplating on re-writing a few chapters within that, but not making it go through such a dramatic re-write as Logic and Magic and Alliances will be going through. Most likely though, you will be seeing updates on that one.

And for those who are wanting a sequel to Old Friends and No Rules, sorry, but those are going to have to wait until I can loosen up the load on my plate at the moment. I MIGHT post a one-shot sort of sequel to No Rules though, depending on how I feel. Those of you who are big fans of Doctor Who will be liking that one-shot.

Again, I'm so sorry for the wait. Also, sorry to those who I promised one-shots to, or promised to use their OCs in the stories. I can't promise if I'll be able to include them or not. I realize now that was a rather unprofessional and unwise move on my part, and I apologize.

So, that's about it. I'm not dead (yet!), I'll be updating When An Eagle Meets a Swan (and POSSIBLY There and Back Again, as that one isn't as bad as the other two), and will be working on re-writes for Logic and Magic and Alliances.

Thank you all for being so patient!

~The Sophster


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